Script:
With dark clouds of Covid-19 looming over most of 2021, Sports kept us upbeat and motivated! Here are the biggest talking points from the world of sports as we bid farewell to 2021
Kidambi Srikanth scripts history:
The disappointment of not being a part of the showpiece Tokyo 2020 Olympics did not deter Kidambi Srikanth who by the end of the year wrote the most glorious chapter in the Indian men's singles at the Badminton World Championship.
After pipping his compatriot Lakshya Sen in the semifinals, Kidambi brought home India's maiden men's Singles silver after losing the final battle to Singapore's Loh Kean Yew.
This was also India's most successful campaign on the world stage as the 20-year-old Sen collected the bronze as well.
Football:
Chhetri making India proud
Sunil Chhetri, the talismanic skipper of the Indian football team, went past global superstar Lionel Messi to become the 2nd highest active international goal scorer. Chhetri achieved this feat during a joint preliminary qualifying round match for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup where he scored a brace against Bangladesh in June
Results
Champion’s League
Chelsea was crowned the Kings of European football after they defeated Manchester City 1-0. Kai Havertz’s only goal of the game proved enough for Thomas Tuchel’s men who brought back the Champions League Trophy to the Stanford Bridge after 2012.
English Premier League
It were Pep Guardiola’s men who rode to victory in the Premier League on the back of Manchester United, claimed their 5th trophy. Rivals Manchester United finished 2nd on the league ahead of Liverpool as City finished on top with 86 points and an incredible 27 wins from 38 games.
La Liga title:
Atletico Madrid clinched their 11th title La Liga crown after pipping their city rivals Real Madrid who finished 2nd. Barcelona finished a distant third as Lionel Messi finished as the top goal scorer of the league with 30 strikes in his last season with the Catalan side.
Copa America:
In July, Argentina rose to the occasion as they won their first Copa America title in 28 years after handing Brazil a 1-0 loss in the final. 15th Copa America title for Argentina but more importantly this was Lionel Messi first major title of his career.
Transfers:
Football’s transfer market also remained hot during the season with the two biggest names in the sport making headlines.
CR7 returned home:
Juventus bid adieu to Cristiano Ronaldo as he returned to play for Manchester United after a gap of 12 years. The Portuguese star signed a 2-year-contract worth approximately 15 million euros to return to Old Trafford.
Messi’s shift from Barcelona to PSG
Until August 2021, imagining Lionel Messi in a jersey apart from Barcelona was almost impossible. But his 21-year long stay with the Spanish club came to an end after Barcelona announced that they could not sign a new deal with the footballer due to financial reasons which left Messi quite emotional.
As a result, French side Paris st Germain caught the attention of the 7-time Ballan d’Or winner and moved him to French Ligue 1
There was plenty of movement when it comes to high-profile managers as well.
Jose Mourinho was sacked by Tottenham after 17 months of service in April. The 58-year-old Portuguese football manager had lost 13 games in all competitions in the 2020-21 season before he was sacked.
Zinedine Zidane who won 3 Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles across two separate spells was relieved by Real Madrid after the club's first trophy-less campaign in 12 years.
In October, Barcelona's head coach Ronald Koeman was sacked after a short service span of 14 months. Under the Dutchman’s watch, Barcelona, one of the top La Liga teams had consistently performed poorly. With just 15 points from 10 games, Barca was 9th position when Koeman was shown the door.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was removed as the Manchester United manager after an embarrassing 4-1 defeat against Watford in November. Though Solskjaer signed a new three-year deal in July, but 5 defeats in the last 7 EPL games, forced the management to chuck him out.
Tokyo 2020
After 1 year delay due to Covid pandemic, Tokyo 2020 Olympics finally took place in Japan.
United States with a total of 113 medals including 39 gold topped the medal count ahead of China with 88 medals and hosts Japan.
Biles’ stand for herself
One of the greatest gymnast of all times, Simone Biles stood out for prioritising her mental wellness over an Olympic medal. The American gymnast decided to pull out from the all-around individual vault, bar, and floors event. However, the 24-year-old made a gripping return for the women’s balance beam event in which she won the bronze medal.
Can we share the gold?
It was a historic moment for Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim as they decided to share the joy of finishing first in an event. It was a heart-warming moment when both were asked to go-ahead for a tie-breaker for the high-jump gold and Barshim questioned if they could share the gold. As soon as the official said yes, without uttering a word the 2 athletes, who have been friends for a long time embraced each other
Brother Sister together
Hifumi Abe and Uta Abe of Japan each won gold in their respective competitions in judo at Tokyo 2020. While Hifumi won in the 66 kg category his sister won in the 52 kg category. They became the first-ever siblings to win gold at the event on the same day.
TENNIS
2021 was the year of Novak Djokovic. The Serbian ace won 3 Grand Slams as he pocketed the Australian Open, French Open, and the Wimbledon title. World number 1 missed the chance to complete the Golden Slam as he failed to win the gold at the Olympics and win the US Open .
While Alexander Zverev made the mark in his debut Olympics, Daniil Medvedev won the US Open after defeating the 20-time Grand Slam Champion Djokovic.
In the Women’s field, Naomi Osaka, Barbora Krejcikova, Ashleigh Barty and Emma Raducanu won the Aus Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open respectively.
FORMULA 1
A fiery rivalry on the Formula 1 track ended with Max Verstappen defeating 7-time champion Lewis Hamilton in a thrilling season finale in Abu Dhabi.
It was a see-saw battle for Hamilton and the Dutchman who won his first-ever championship as the 2 racers were level on points going into the final race. Till the very last lap of the season, fans were on the edge of their seats as Verstappen won the race in controversial circumstances. Mercedes’ appeals later were rejected by the FIA as Verstappen remained the F1 Champion.